This invention relates generally to a blank of sheet material and a reinforced container formed from the blank and, more particularly, to a reinforced, convertible shipping container having a removable top portion, a reinforcing insert coupled to the top portion, and a tray portion, wherein the container is convertible into a display tray when the top portion and the reinforcing insert are removed together from the tray portion.
Containers fabricated from paperboard and/or corrugated paperboard material are often used to store and transport goods. Such containers are usually formed from blanks of sheet material that are folded along a plurality of preformed fold lines to form an erected corrugated container. At least some known blanks include a pair of end panels, a pair of side panels, a glue tab, a bottom panel, and, in some cases, a top panel, connected by a plurality of fold lines. The panels are rotated to form end walls, side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall of the container. To form at least some known containers, some of the panels are secured using an adhesive. Such known containers are formed using a machine and/or by hand. At least some known containers are further configured to separate a top portion of the container from a display (or tray) portion of the container.
At least some such containers have certain strength requirements for storing and transporting products. These strength requirements may include a stacking strength requirement such that the containers can be stacked on one another during transport without collapsing. To meet these strength requirements, at least some known containers include reinforcing liners for providing additional strength, including stacking strength. At least some such containers are additionally retail-ready packaging (RRP) containers that convert from a shipping container into a display container, where the interior contents of the container are showcased. These RRP types of containers oftentimes lack stacking strength because of perforations and other lines of weakness that are included in the container to allow them to be convertible. Unfortunately, these containers that include reinforcing inserts can be less than desirable for retail applications, for example, because the clerk who may convert the shipping container into a display container may remove the upper portion of the container without removing the reinforcing liner from within the container. By not removing the reinforcing liner from within the container, consumers may not have easy of access to the products in the container and/or may not be able to easily see the products housed in the container when being displayed, which detracts from the effectiveness and convenience of such containers.